Recurrent ocular herpes simplex virus infection of the corneal stroma is one of the leading causes of blindness in this country. However, the role for virus-induced immunopathology in herpes simplex keratitis and uveitis has not been delineated. The long term goal of our research program is to achieve a clear understanding of the immunologic mechanism which might be involved in the pathogenesis and recovery in ocular herpes virus infection, so that a rationale to therapy can be established. Our immediate approach is to investigate three mechanisms of immunopathology--hypersensitivity, both cellular and humoral, immune complex formation, and autosensitization--which may play important roles in recurrent herpes infection in the eye in order to construct an integrated model for the pathogenesis of corneal inflammation. BIBLIOGRAPHC REFERENCES: Immunology of Herpes Virus Infections: Immunity to Herpes Simplex Virus in Eye Infections. R. L. Meyers and Chitjian, P. A. Survey Ophthalmol., 21: 194-204, 1976. Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Specific Cell-Mediated Lysis. Meyers, R. L. and Chitjian, P. A. Fed. Proc. 35: 392, 1976.